Product Description
Anyone interested in mythology and legends will enjoy these stories which have been passed down orally for generations by the Pueblo Indians of the American Southwest. They reveal Pueblo customs and traditions as well as the ceremonial aspects of Pueblo religion. A character called Grandfather, the fictional narrator of these stories, embodies the collective wisdom of the Pueblo Indians, the attitudes about universal dilemmas and conflicts in human life that developed through many generations. Some of the stories are realistic; others involve the supernatural. Some evoke the initial contact between the pueblos and the Spanish conquistadors. There are also tales of the joy and bitterness of interactions between parents and children, husbands and wives, and humans and spirits. Rites of passage and 'vision quests' often enter into the characters' attempts to live in harmony with nature, other humans, and spirits. Lessons on how to live, of growing up, marrying, parenting, and growing old sometimes emerge straightforwardly in these stories, but more often, readers are left to draw their own conclusions. These stories, collected by the Teresa Pijoan since she was eight years old, actually came from many different storytellers, some of them childhood friends of the author. She had heard several versions of each story before writing it down and she often used elements from one version to fill in the parts missing from other versions. She then showed her drafts of each story to members of several different pueblos and weighed their comments before putting each story in its present form. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An absorbing and thought-provoking assemblage of folklore
Pueblo Indian Wisdom: Native American Legends And Mythology is a collection by Teresa Pijoan of the legends, folktales, and myths which were passed down orally for generations among the Pueblo Indians of the American Southwest. Powerfully rendered, the recorded drafts of each individual story was shown to multiple storytellers, with their comments taken into account for the final draft. An absorbing and thought-provoking assemblage of folklore, Pueblo Indian Wisdom is a welcome and commended addition to any personal, academic, or community library Native American Studies collection. ... Read more

Product Description
An illustrated collection of more than a 100 legends of the North American Indian tribes. All the major geographical areas and Indian tribes are covered in this collection, each with a brief introduction followed by a paraphrased retelling of the story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Voices of the winds
A very nice collection of stories. Lots I hadn't heard before. A pleasure to add to my collection of stories.

Voices in the Winds, Native American Legends
This book is very good reading. All the stories are short and told in the original style. It is a must read for anyone interested in Native American History and Culture. This should be required reading for Native American Youth.

Whispers of the past
Great retelling of old myths and legends. An essential read for those who enjoy western America ideas and life styles. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Historic American Indian Folklore
edited by Henry R. Schoolcraft. The author is thought to be the first man to study how the Indians (western) lived. Here's a collection of fairy tales and legends that were handed from generation to generation as spoken stories by the earliest Americans. Read them aloud or encourage your kids to dig in on their own. A mischief maker of a giant, Manabozho provides an amusing cautionary tale of consequences. The lovely story of Osseo, Son of the Evening Star may inspire story telling at your own hearth. The Dover edition, like many of their books, is abridged and adapted from an original historical volume. Every story is worth reading. Soft cover ... Read more

Product Description
Truckee River Water Babies begins in the nineteenth century, telling a tale from the desert area near the great Pyramid Lake in Nevada. The struggle to survive for American frontier families is very tough but also satisfying. It was not as hard for the Native American tribes in the surrounding area to live with relative ease, as they have lived for centuries in harmony with nature and given the utmost respect to this land.

The Water Babies legend begins when the tribe's shaman and his apprentice are unseen witnesses to the U.S. Army's horrific slaughter of innocent people from their village, near the shores of the Truckee River, which empties into Pyramid Lake. This shaman created the Water Babies legend because of the great sorrow he felt for his people after this traumatic event.

In the twentieth century, a modern-day Shaman and his apprentice put the legend to the test, with results reminiscent of the cruelty and deceit that the Native American people have endured over the past centuries from the people who ruthlessly conquered this continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. ... Read more

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Stories from the rich oral tradition of the native people of the Southwest as told by a master storyteller. Tales of wandering, cultivation myths, wise riddles, and other stories introduce readers to the unwritten history of Indian culture. ... Read more

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These Native American myths and legends incl ude the story of Hiawatha, the Mohawk medicine man, and the legend of young Tenas Tyee, so clean and pure that he was ab le to destroy the terrible two-headed sea-serpent with its h eart of greed. ' ... Read more

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The hermit thrush, a shy bird with an enchanting song, usually hides deep in the forest and reveals his song only to the lucky few. Tehanetorens, a master storyteller steeped in Mohawk tradition, presents the legendary tale of this bird. Beautifully illustrated with line drawings by Jerry Lee Hutchens. ... Read more

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Collected almost 100 years ago, these timeless tales reveal the central beliefs and guiding principles of Winnebago, Ojibwa, Menominee, and other peoples and provide a window into their outlook and aspirations. An introduction by historian Peter Iverson highlights the divergent ways Native American identity has been constructed through such legends ... Read more

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Provides the reader with insights
Native American Legends Of The Great Lakes And The Mississippi Valley is an outstanding collection of legends, tales and myths drawn from the Native American peoples of the Great Lakes area, the Midwest, and the Mississippi River valley. This rich and diverse collection reveals the central beliefs and reflects the guiding principles of Winnebago, Ojibwa, Menominee, and other native tribes, providing the reader with insights into their outlook and aspirations. Native American Legends Of The Great Lakes And The Mississippi Valley is a welcome addition to personal, academic, and community library Native American Studies reading lists and reference collections. ... Read more

Product Description
Princess Scargo is thrilled when she receives a unique birthday gift from a neighboring tribe--a large, magnificently decorated pumpkin inside of which are brilliantly colored fish. Yet as much as Scargo cherishes this living treasure, she sacrifices it in order to help her people, the Nobscussets, survive a terrible drought. Full color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Tale about the importance of self sacrifice
"Princess Scargo and the Birthday Pumpkin" is a wonderful Native-American tale about a princess named Scargo who decided to sacrifice her most precious gift, a large pumpkin she got on her birthday, in order to save her people when a drought has hit her tribe.

Geena Davis (you probably know her as Barbara on "Beetlejuice") narrates in a tender story giving this story a sense of tranqility, even when the Princess had to sacrifice her most treasured item to save her village. Michael Hedges' music is fantastic as it is Native-American inspired and is mesmerizing to listen to. Karen Barbour's illustrations are smooth and colorful as she makes each Native have slanted eyes and narrow faces. This book will most certainly be a treasure for anyone who is interested in Native-American folktales. ... Read more

Product Description
In this beloved Eskimo legend, an idle sleepyhead becomes the champion who saves his people from famine and disaster.

The Legends of the World opens readers' minds to the diverse cultures of Native America, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and the Americas through enchanting tales passed down through countless generations.Each book in the series features geographical, historical, and cultural information.Illustrated in full color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Eskimo legend of Ka-ha-si, the Strong One
I think of the Loon as the state bird of Minnesota, which it is, so the idea that it makes its way to the frozen North makes sense since I live in the frozen South.This volume in the Native American Legends series tells the story of Ka-ha-si, an Eskimo boy who lived with his mother in s small hunting village near the sea but who spends all of the day asleep by his lamp.Then one morning, before the sun was up, he was awakened by a beautiful black bird with white speckles on its back.The Loon had brought him a message from Ka-ha-si's grandfather.But first Ka-ha-si must do things to make himself strong for when his grandfather calls for him.

When a season of hunger comes to the village, the Loon tells Ka-ha-si to help his people.The other villagers doubt that the boy they call Lazy One can do what the best hunters cannot, but he surprises them, not once, but twice.Several more times the Loon awakens Ka-ha-si to tell him of a crisis that is affecting his people, and each time Ka-ha-si rises to the challenge.Finally the day comes when the Loon takes Ka-ha-si to his grandfather, and we learn why Ka-ha-si is known as the Strong One.

Of course, I like that at the end of this story the legendary figure of Ka-ha-si has an obvious corresponding figure from classical mythology, and hopefully young readers will pick up on the similarity.I am not sure if "Ka-ha-si and the Loon: An Eskimo Legend" provides an explanation for the way things are that many myths do, but it is still an entertaining tale.Then in the back of the book there is a look at the Eskimo culture, with maps and photographs (the latter coming mostly from the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Washington Special Collections Division) covering their homeland, people, food, clothing, and shelter.This section also talks about the Eskimos today, with a list of important dates, and a glossary of terms from "caribou" to "umiak."

The watercolor illustrations by Reasoner show the variety in style and color of the parkas worn by the Eskimos.One of the strengths of this series is how it combines stories that are fairly detailed and complex with information on the history and customs of the Native Americans from which the story comes, which makes it stand out from other similar series.Other volumes in the Native American Legends series by Cohlene and Reasoner includes "Clamshell Boy: A Makah Legend," "Dancing Drum: A Cherokee Legend," "Little Firefly: An Algonquian Legend," and "Quillworker: A Cheyenne Legend." ... Read more

Product Description
Presents a collection of legends about North American Indians. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fantastic art - great myths - Native American
Byrd Baylor's books are always a wonderful and satisfying visual as well as story line.Great for library - but even better for children in your family! ... Read more

Product Description
This book contains fifty Native American legends, collected and re-told by John W. Friesen and Virginia Lyons Friesen in a manner suitable for everyone from children to university students. It contains Origin Stories, How Stories, Why Stories, and Ten Tricky Trickster Tales. ... Read more

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Of Flying Heads, Snake Men, and Water People
Lankford's "Native American Legends" is a very readable but also scholarly collection of Southeastern Native legends and folktales. The stories are collected under the principles of theFinnish/Historical-Geographical school of folktale analysis. On thesurface, this note may not mean much to lay readers. However, itmeansthat the stories are examined in the context of from whom and where theycome, a very useful arrangement. Simply stated, the stories come withadditional cultural information as totheir symbols and customs. Thismakes our attempts to understand the stories easier. If one is notinterested in historical-cultural analysis, one can skip the informativeintroduction and head right into the tales themselves, which are written inthe typical straightforward manner of most folktales everywhere. Inadditon, for purposes of comparison, Lankford also provides examples ofAfrican and African-American folktales and legends. The endnotes andbibliography are extensive There is, indeed, something in this book thatcan appeal to everyone. I have used the book in the classroom by, amongother ways, dictating legends to the students; by hearing culturallyunfamiliar tales, they are required to muster all their listening andnote-taking skills to return to me their own written version of the tales.All in all, "Native American Legends" is a boon for all lovers offolk literature and stands as a model folklore anthology. ... Read more

Product Description
This enchanting myth of a young Cheyenne woman, famous for her porcupine-quill embroidery, explains how the stars were born.

The Legends of the World opens readers' minds to the diverse cultures of Native America, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and the Americas through enchanting tales passed down through countless generations.Each book in the series features geographical, historical, and cultural information.Illustrated in full color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great book!
I am a third grade teacher and I use this book every year in my classroom when we study Native Americans.It tells the story of how the big dipper was created.It shows the culture of the people. My students always enjoy it.

Native legends told simply, beautifully, and poetically
Ostentively written for children, Terri Cohlene captures the spirit of a Cheyenne legend explaining the origin of stars. She then goes it one better by compiling an entertaining and educational perspective on the historical and cultural aspects of the Cheyene civilization. After reading her marvelous tale I was surprised to find the entire last half serving as a text book to further educate me. I learned something reading this and so can you. ... Read more

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Lankford's comprehensive anthology is a testament to his homage of native Americans and their history. This book includes 131 legends from the American Southeast accompanied by maps, illustrations and discussions of the cultures that generated them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Historical
I read through the introduction and a bit of the chapters before I couldn't read anymore. I'm not a very linear thinker and this book is very linear and intellectual. Every story is put into a category and are very short. I wanted more detailed stories. I wanted more non-linear stories-- the ones that connect because of a little detail or a person (similar to Greek and Roman myths). ... Read more

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Illustrated by John McLenan ... Read more

Product Description
A retelling of a Navajo Indian legend in which Turquoise Boy searches for something that will make the Navajo people's lives easier; includes a brief history of the Navajo people and their customs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great, educational book
This is a well written book with great illustrations about Navajo belief couched in a simplistic tale.I would recommend it, not only for children to read, but for adults as well.It also appeals to those who may not be familiar with any Navajo belief/"mythology" or are looking to learn more.

The story of how the Navajo received their greatest gift
I see the Earth
I am looking at Her and smile
Because She makes me happy.
The Earth, looking back at me
Is smiling too.
May I walk happily
And lightly
Upon her.

The Navajo legend of Turquoise Boy tells the story of young Navajo who saw his people working hard in the fields and searching long in the desert for food, and who wanted to do something to make their life easier.To prove himself worthy he went on a journey to try and find his answer with the Talking Gods of the White Shell Mountains of the East.But this proves to be only the first stop on a long journey, for each time Turquoise Boy asks for something to make the lives of his people easier the Talking Gods send him along to their brothers of the sacred Turquoise Mountain or the Yellow Abalone Shell Mountain in the west or the Black Jet Mountain of the north.It is only when he returns to his mother, Changing Woman, that she sends him across a rainbow bridge to the great hogan of his father, Sun Bearer.

What is interesting about "Turquoise Boy: A Navajo Legend" adapted by Terri Cohlene with illustrations by Charles Reasoner, is how Turquoise Boy's long journey leads him to come up with a way in which the lives of his people can be made earlier.Knowing from experience that walking is slow and tiring, Turquoise Boy wants a better way to get from place to place.It is then that he finds a ladder sticking up from a hole in the ground that leads to a kiva in which he meets Mirage Man, who shows the young man what to do with the shells and stones he collected on his journey.

If young readers pay attention to the cover design of this book, then they will know what the great gift is going to be.But this story not only explains how this great gift came to the Navajo people, but what they had to do to deserve it and to continue to deserve it.Then in the back of the book young readers will find an informative section on the Navajo with photographs (mostly black & white) of the masks and costumes representing gods and powerful beings that they were in tribal ceremonies, sand paintings, and rugs.There are also illustrations showing three different ways of constructing a hogan, the structures in which the Navajos lived.The accompanying text covers the Navajo homeland, people, beliefs, and their lives today.

The watercolor illustrations by Reasoner often incorporate traditional Navajo designs into the artwork, and if you compare the his illustrations with the photographs in the back of the book you will see that attention is paid to depicting the native garb of the Navajo and other aspects of their culture.One of the strengths of this series is how it combines stories that are fairly detailed and complex with information on the history and customs of the Native Americans from which the story comes, which makes it stand out from other similar series.Other volumes in the Native American Legends series by Cohlene and Reasoner includes "Dancing Drum: A Cherokee Legend," "Ka-ha-si and the Loon: An Eskimo Legend," "Little Firefly: An Algonquian Legend," "Clamshell Boy: A Makah Legend," and "Quillworker: A Cheyenne Legend."

A Native American Legend
"Turquoise Boy: A Navajo Legend" is a part of the "Native American Legends" series. The presentation of the legend makes it accessible to readers while maintaining an accurate image of the Navajo culture. The illustrations use warm colors and geometric shapes and symbols common in the Navajo world. The text is a delightful retelling of a traditional Navajo legend. Turquoise Boy, the son of Sun Bearer and Changing Woman (Navajo spirits of creation), goes in search of a way to make the life of his people easier. He travels across the Navajo world and implores the Holy Ones, his father above (Sun Bearer-the sun), and Mirage Man below to help the People. Mirage Man shows Turquoise Boy a secret gift, and the People participate in a ceremony to bring the gift forth.

This book is a beautiful way to learn about the Navajo culture. The retelling of traditional legends are such an important part of preserving any culture, and this series has made us all participants in a wider American culture. I would recommend the whole series as well as the books from the "Legends of the World" series. ... Read more

Product Description
Reminiscent of the Cinderella story, this is the enchanting tale of a shy maiden who wins the heart of a great warrior despite her cruel and mocking older sisters. ... Read more

Product Description
More than thirty stories from a variety of Native American sources covering creation myths, hero tales, and trickster stories, as well as tales of little people, giants, and monsters, and of magic, enchantment, sorcery, and the spirit world. Included are "The White Stone Canoe" (Chippewa), "Raven Pretends to Build a Canoe" (Tsimhian), "The Theft from the Sun" (Blackfoot), "The Loon’s Necklace" (Iroquois), "The Rabbit Goes Duck Hunting" (Cherokee), "The Coyote" (Pueblo), "The Origin of the Buffalo and of Corn" (Cheyenne), many more.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Native American Tales & Legends
This is a great book ! Easy to read, many different legends.
I bought it for myself & my 8 year old grandson asked if he could have it,
so I ordered one for him.
M. Hudson

Very worthwhile for children and adults alike
Compiled by Allan MacFarlan, Native American Tales and Legends compiles myths and stories drawn from the title culture.Featuring more than thirty tales, Native American Tales and Legends feature heroic stories and allegories, folk tales, and tales of the spirit world among others, which is pretty much what anyone at all familiar with the Native American culture would expect.Children will enjoy the fairy tale-like quality and dreamlike states of many of the tales ("Manstin, the Rabbit" in particular) and followers of the culture will enjoy this collection even more so.The only real downside of Native American Tales and Legends is that more material wasn't included in this collection, and that no poetry from the culture is featured either, which contains just as much mythology and heart as any of the other stories featured here.Despite that, this is instantly worth picking up regardless. ... Read more